They'll Never Notice
by retardedgazelle
Summary: Set after 3.13, Lara knows about Heidi and Jordan but has kept quiet, until the team is called to a major incident.
1. Chapter 1

I am not really sure about publishing this, I have only ever attempted one fanfiction before and I always said I would never start another until that one was finished, but that one has not been updated in over a year and I am not sure when I'll ever finish it. I am sad that there are not more Rescue Fanfictions around and had an idea brewing so i'm going to give it a go and see how I get on. There are several really good rescue fics I am really enjoying at the moment and while I am trying to be patient for updates I am filling the time between checking for updates with having a go at this story.

This is set after 3.13, so Lara knows about Jordan and Heidi but has kept quiet about it. I am very excited about 3.14 and hating the wait!

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><p>"Where's Jordan, and Heidi?" asked Michelle, looking around the office. Lara turned slightly in her chair to hide the smile on her face, she had a good idea where they were but she wasn't going to spill the beans, at least not until she had had a bit more fun with her knowledge.<p>

With no answer forthcoming Michelle sighed and turned to Vince, waiting for him to hang up the phone. Lara meanwhile was discreetly attempting to text Heidi 'you better hurry up, your absence is noted'.

"we have a big one, building explosion and collapse, we'll call Jordan and Heidi on the way, they can meet us there" Vince handed the slip with the address on to Michelle as he started heading to the stairs, Chase, Dean and Lara close behind him.

"Hold on, Guys, this is Jordans building" the team stopping dead at Michelles words, a second later they were running down the stairs and jumping into the patrol, Michelle jumping in with Vince as they pulled out into the street. They rode in silence interrupted only by the blare of the sirens, following the other patrol.

Inside the other patrol Chase was trying to call Jordan but getting no response, and he was getting frustrated. Dean was concentrating on the road but was still trying to relieve some of the tension "he's probably helping people at the scene", He glanced over at Lara, who was also on the phone, she noticed him looking "i'm trying to call Heidi"

"tell her to get there"

"she's not answering"

"leave a message, we're here" He stopped the patrol and they all jumped out, they paused for a moment taking in the scene in front of them. Where once had been the apartment block containing Jordan's apartment, now was a large pile of rubble and dust. Firies were hosing down a small fire in one corner of the site, while dust filled the street. The police had set up a perimeter and the ambo's already on the scene had set up a triage area with colour coded large squares of tarpaulin. Walking wounded were being guided away from the main site.

Vince and Michelle had also pulled up and were heading over to speak to the Fire Officer in charge. Dean, Lara and Chase were desperately scanning the area, hoping to spot Jordan amongst the people already evacuated from the building. When they couldn't see him amongst the green tags they started scanning the more serious injuries, still not spotting him, and not seeing him anywhere else at the scene they forced themselves to look at the black sheet, 2 bodies had already been pulled from the rubble and with a huge sigh Dean had confirmed that neither was Jordan.

Michelle and Vince approached the team, Vince speaking first.

"Right, There was an explosion 30 minutes ago, the firies think it was a gas leak, it brought down the north side of the building. The complex contained 14 apartments, we have a tenant list from the building manager. There are walking wounded from the street, and the police are trying to get names from people who managed to get out of the building. The building is unstable, and getting the rest out is going to be slow and difficult. We will start on the east side of the building, the firies say the fire on the west side is mostly under control, but we can't enter that area until they have cleared it, Right now we have 8 occupants unaccounted for, but cops are going through the contact lists to try and confirm if they were likely to be in the building."

Michelle stepped forward

"we are now co-ordinating the search for the rest of the occupants. The hospitals are on alert and following the major incident protocol. The ambulance service will continue to triage those outside the building and provide transport. Police are helping to confirm a list of those missing and will help to control the media. The fire service is in charge where the building is still on fire and you will wait for instruction from them before entering that area.. They have already shut off the power, water and gas to the building." Michelle paused and took a deep breath. "At the moment Jordan is on the list of those missing"

Lara knew she had to speak up now, Heidi had not responded to her messages or phonecalls and Lara now had a horrible feeling that she knew why she wasn't responding.

"I think Heidi could be in there too"

"what?" asked a shocked and confused Michelle

"Heidi and Jordan are seeing each other, they think it's a secret but they have been together since the chopper crash, and they've been arriving at work together most mornings. She's not answering her phone or responding to messages, I think she's been staying at Jordan's"

The team all stared at Lara, Chase couldn't believe Jordan had managed to keep such a secret from him, Dean couldn't believe Lara had known and she hadn't told him. Then the reality sort of sunk in and they forgot the fact that they had been secretly dating and realised the implications. There was a good chance both Jordan and Heidi were somewhere under the pile of rubble in front of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Just a very quick extra mini chapter, to set the scene from Jordan and Heidi's point of View. Most of the story will probably be from the teams point of view, but I will probably add in some mini chapters like this with some of Heidi and Jordans thoughts/perspectives.

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><p><span>Earlier that morning<span>

Heidi rolled over and opened her eyes. Lying next to her was the still sleeping Jordan, she had woken up in his bed for the fourth time that week. She didn't mind, Jordan lived alone and she had roomates but she reasoned she really did need to think about bringing some of her stuff over if this was going to continue. She glanced over to the clock and jumped out of the bed.

"Jordan wake up, Now!"

Jordan stirred and mumbled something intelligible.

"we are going to be late Jordan, get up"

"they'll never notice" Jordan tried to reassure the panicking Heidi.

"I don't care, get up" Heidi was already trying to get dressed, she threw his clothes at him and headed into the bathroom. "I'm leaving in 5 minutes with or without you" she called from the bathroom, her mouth filled with foam as she quickly brushed her teeth.

She turned to leave the bathroom and ran straight into Jordan, who slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

"not now" mumbled Heidi, but it was a half hearted objection, she leaned in and kissed him back, "I could stay here all day but they will notice, we need to get going"

"OK, I'll be 2 minutes" Jordan entered the bathroom while Heidi headed back to the bedroom.

"have you seen my phone?" she shouted to Jordan, while throwing the sheets around and bending down to look under the bed.

Before Jordan had the chance to respond there was a loud boom and the whole apartment began to shake. As the walls began to fall down around her all Heidi could think about was Jordan, while in the next room Jordans last thought was of Heidi as the ceiling crashed down.


	3. Chapter 3

I wanted to get another chapter up, so here it is. I know how I imagine the scenes playing out in my head but getting that down on paper is hard, I do have a good idea of what will be happening in the next chapter so hopefully it won't take me too long to get that up.

Thank you sooo much for the reviews, they make me so happy and really motivate me to get the next chapter down!

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><p>The mobile command had quickly been set up. Vince had the blueprints for the building, and Michelle was still working with the police to try and confirm the list of those missing. They had set up a grid system over the collapsed building and they would have to work slowly across the building. The whole site was unstable and it was going to be slow going as the teams would have to work through the rubble while trying to prevent any further collapse. Chase was getting increasingly frustrated that they had not yet been allowed to approach the site and start digging, Dean was attempting to keep him calm and remind him that this was how they had to do it, while also struggling with the delay. Although it seemed like an eternity later it was only in fact 10 minutes before Vince gave the OK to go in.<p>

"Each Team will start in it's appointed grid, we have thermal cameras. As you move across the grid you will keep an eye on gas levels and attempt to sure up any very unstable areas so access will become easier if you then need to bring in other equipment. This is a rescue operation, we will go slow and steady because we want this to remain a rescue and not a recovery. For the search teams you will stop and await support from Rescue if you find an occupant or if you hit a very unstable area, do not work outside your limitations. Rescue teams you will search but will be available for specialised support and medical assistance."

Michelle now stepped forward.

"We are currently looking for 9 people, and until we know otherwise we have to assume they are all in there somewhere and are still alive, Lets get them all out"

The teams started to move away from the command area and picking up their equipment headed towards the remains of the building. Michelle and Vince watching them walk away shared a look, this was going to be a long day and both knew that it would be important to remember they were looking for 9 people in the building, and not just 2. They were good at their jobs and this was what they did best, but the 2 names on the list in front of Michelle that meant so much to them was going to make this a very difficult rescue.

The search teams had started, but as pieces were being removed from the site more destruction was being unearthed. Progress was slow, as expected, with sheets of concrete being removed and attempts being made to stabilise the larger pieces that couldn't be moved away. The thermal camera had picked something up about 30 minutes in and with a bit more digging they confirmed they had found one of the occupants. The young woman was in pretty good shape considering, but had been pinned by falling concrete. Lara was providing medical attention as Dean and Chase slid in the air bags to raise the concrete, the ambo's standing by. Given the scale of the destruction she had proved relatively simple to free and was soon on her way to the hospital.

The cops had also managed to track down a couple from the building, who it turned out, had gone away to visit family for the week. They were in Brisbane, and were shocked to discover what had happened to their home, and were also concerned about their still missing neighbours. When the firies had controlled the small blaze and had entered the area they had unfortunately discovered another of the buildings occupants within the remains of the apartment appeared to be the source of the initial explosion.

Michelle updated the teams that they were now only searching for 5 missing people, including Heidi and Jordan. Michelle had continued to try calling both of them in the hope that maybe Lara had been wrong, or maybe they had stayed at Heidi's and were just cutting work to spend time together, some part of her was still hoping that they would get the messages and come running over trying to explain where they had been. The much more realistic and level headed Michelle however knew that they would not ignore calls, that Heidi was hardly ever late and that even if they did want to sneak off they would have at least called and pretended to be ill. She also knew that the building collapse was a major incident and unless the duo were hiding under a rock they would have heard the news and would have been in contact.

So the rescue operation continued, with everybody involved working as fast as they could in the circumstances. At 2 hours after the explosion they had discovered another occupant, but despite Laras determination to save them Dean had been forced to pull her away when he realised the patient had probably died immediately. Lara had struggled, taking her frustration at the situation out on Dean, and watching the body be removed from the scene she had stopped long enough for the situation to suddenly really hit her. Dean had found her sat on the back of the patrol and had just held her, giving her comfort without words and letting her take the time she needed to regain her composure.

The sound of Laras phone ringing brought them both back into the moment. It took a moment for her to actually locate the phone, after all checking for messages had been a low priority, so when she found it and looked at the screen she was shocked at the caller ID. Heidi.


	4. Chapter 4

I'll admit now I was planning on making this one longer chapter, but it is time for bed and this seemed a good place to pause so I thought I would add it as a shorter chapter. I'm actually enjoying writing this, but i'm still awaiting updates form all you other lovely authors on your stories!

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><p>Heidi was slowly starting to become aware. The first thing she was aware of was that her head hurt and her ears were ringing. She squeezed her eyes closed and tried to take a deep breath, hoping that the nausea and ringing would subside. But taking a deep breath had alerted her to the fact that her head was not the only thing that hurt, and she bit on her lip as pain waved across the right side of her chest as she inhaled.<p>

Opening her eyes she realised she was somewhere dark and very dusty, she tried to remember where she was, recalling getting up this morning at Jordans apartment. She felt around herself and realised she had her uniform on, had she made it work? Had something happened on a rescue?. She knew something was very wrong but determined not to panic she tried to focus on where she was and what was happening with her own body. She started at her head, trying to think about all her training, and how to assess a patient, nose to toes. She was conscious, which was good, feeling her head she felt a wet sticky patch on one side and knew she was bleeding, but realised that it was not actively bleeding. She also realised she was moving her arms and they weren't any more painful than after a hard workout. The pain in her chest however hadn't eased and each breath was incredibly painful. Running her hands over her chest she soon realised exactly where the pain was coming from, as she realised she had a penetrating chest injury, from what she could feel a piece of metal was lodged in her chest and after taking a few more breaths she had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Trying to calm her breathing she was pretty sure whatever had impaled her had caused a pneumothorax and air was probably leaking into her chest cavity. She knew it wasn't good but she also knew panicking wouldn't help, it wasn't immediately life threatening, but she would probably need help at some point.

Moving her legs she realised she wasn't pinned at all , but was rather stuck in a rather confined space. Things were gradually becoming clearer and she realised that she hadn't made it to work this morning, that what surrounded her was the remains of what was once her boyfriends apartment.

Jordan. With a sickening realisation she remembered the last moments before the blast, Jordan had been in the bathroom, but where was he now? She remembered the kiss in the hallway, a moment of pure happiness, then what? She had gone to search for her phone.

The ringing in her ears, maybe it wasn't all in her head, where was her phone? Slowly feeling around herself she finally felt the plastic of the item she was looking for, her phone. Lifting it towards her face she saw the phone light up and felt a moment of hope. The screen informed her she had several messages and missed calls, Michelle and Lara. While she still wasn't sure what had happened she was pretty sure an apartment building collapsing would have got Rescue's attention, but did they know she was here? Dialling the first number she could think of she hoped that her phone would work and connect her. She felt a tear rolling from her eye as she heard the phone ringing.


	5. Chapter 5

I was hoping to get this chapter up sooner but have struggled with it a bit, I found it hard to work out the flow between Heidi, the Team on the site and then also Jordan. I hope it makes sense! Thank you so much for the reviews though, they really do encourage me to keep writing, and guilt me into updating faster!

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><p>"Heidi, Heidi? Is that you?"<p>

Dean looked up as Lara had jumped up and answered the phone, and he was now waiting for an indication that Lara had had a response.

"Lara"

It was weak and raspy but Lara could have cried at hearing her own name. She looked up at Dean a huge grin on her face and grabbing his arm started dragging him towards the command centre.

"Heidi, are you OK?, we are all here, me, Dean, Chase, Michelle and Vince, I'm going to put you on speakerphone OK" Lara had reached the command centre and had placed the phone on the desk. "It's Heidi" she told Michelle and Vince.

"I'm sorry I'm late for work" Even as she was saying it, Heidi was unsure as to why she felt the need to apologise, but the words seemed to just be coming out of her mouth. Hearing Lara's voice had suddenly made Heidi more emotional and as tears started streaming down her face she struggled to hold it together.

"Heidi, Listen to me OK, it doesn't matter about you being late for work, we are going to get you out" Michelle attempted to comfort Heidi.

"Heidi-Ho, I need you to Listen to me, we are going to come get you, Just hang on. Are you hurt?"

Vince asked.

"it's dark, it's really dark, and I don't know where Jordan is, we were talking and laughing and then it went dark" Heidi was sobbing now and the others could hear the fear and panic in her voice.

"we're going to find you both, I know it's scary Heidi but we will get you out, and Jordan, we will get you both. Now I need you to try and stay calm and help us OK" Vince was trying to calm Heidi down enough to try and get some useful information out of her. They paused for a moment while they listened as Heidi managed to calm herself down and the sobs subsided.

"Are you hurt?" Vince tried asking again

Heidi stifled her sobs and tried to focus. She was highly trained, she knew what they wanted, what they needed to know, she just had to concentrate and help them to help her.

"I hit my head, It's bleeding but it's not too bad. I feel a bit woozy and nauseous it might be a concussion." Heidi paused, she didn't want to worry her friends but she still had to tell them there was a large piece of metal sticking into her chest.

"My legs and arms seem OK, and no abdominal pain, but..." Heidi trailed off.

"But what Heidi? Speak to me" insisted Vince.

"Penetrating chest trauma, I'm impaled, I think it was the light fitting, there's a decent sized piece of metal stuck in the right side of my chest. I'm bleeding but I don't think it's arterial, pleuritic chest pain"

The team on the other end of the line absorbed what Heidi had told them, all of their faces showing true concern at this new information. They all suspected the same thing that Heidi had, that the piece of metal could have made a hole in her lung that was slowly leaking air into her pleural cavity. Like Heidi they also knew that while it could be a false alarm or a small leak there was also the possibility that with each breath she took more air would fill her chest, and that eventually that could compress not only her lungs but also her heart, a life threatening emergency. They needed to find her soon. The search teams had been continuing to work across the site and were now over half way.

"Heidi, can you see anything?" Vince was hoping she might be able to help them locate her.

"it's too dark, wait" Heidi remembered she had been dressed for work and was about to walk out of the door, she had her uniform on including the thigh pack she knew she had a torch in. Trying to reach the pack though was painful and difficult, reaching down while trying not to move the metal was awkward but she managed to grab the pack and bring it up towards her head. Opening it up she retrieved a pen torch. While not particularly powerful it was better than nothing. Turning it on she tried to look around herself.

"I've got a torch but it all looks the same, it's all concrete." Heidi was trying very hard not to alarm her friends but the pain in her chest was becoming difficult to bear and she was becoming more short of breath.

Michelle had been talking to one of the search teams on the radio and she now interrupted.

"Chase, Dean, the search team have found something, get over there"

The brothers sprinted away from the command centre and towards one of the search teams. The team had already excavated a large area and they indicated to the brothers what they had found. Peering into a gap between two slabs of concrete they were able to spot a foot, with what looked very much like a rescue issue work boot on it.

"Jordan, Jordan" Dean was assessing the structure whilst also hoping to get a response from the motionless person who he was almost certain was Jordan, as the only other still missing occupants were Heidi and another woman. He spoke to Michelle and asked her to ask Heidi to move her legs, and with no movement seen he knew this wasn't Heidi.

Chase had brought the air bags over and after raising one of the slabs they had created a space big enough for one of them to slide into. Chase had volunteered to go in, and he slid forward in the tight space, soon reaching an unconscious Jordan.

"Jordan, can you hear me?" Chase reached out to feel for a pulse and heaved a huge sigh of relief when he found one.

"Guys, I've got Jordan, he's alive, but we need to get him out of here quick, he's unconscious and it's too tight in here to properly assess him"

Dean responded. "it's really unstable we're going to have to sure up a lot of this concrete before we can try and dig our way further in, it's going to take time"

"I don't know how long we have, pulse is weak and tachy, I think he's bleeding from somewhere"

Vince now spoke to Chase. "Chase you are there, could you pull him out?"

"I don't know Vince, it will be risky and I can't immobilise his spine"

Chase knew what he was saying, if he tried to simply drag Jordan out they couldn't protect his spine, without knowing his injuries and with him unconscious it was a very risky move and he could end up paralysing his best friend. However he also suspected Jordan was bleeding internally and with no other way to assess him then waiting to dig him out could prove fatal, he could bleed out while they were waiting.

Lara was anxiously listening to Chase describing Jordans situation. She was still on the phone to Heidi and was trying to keep her calm and reassure her, while not letting her know the situation. She had told Heidi that they had found Jordan and that he was alive, and Heidi had audibly cried with relief. Lara could also tell however that although her friend was trying to stay calm, and was also trying to hide her pain, Lara could hear that her breathing was becoming more laboured and she could hear her trying to choke back gasps of pain.

Lara, Michelle and Vince were all aware that Chase was really the only one who could make the decision. They stood unconsciously holding their collective breath, waiting to hear from him.


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you again for the lovely reviews! They really make me happy and make me write faster. I love Heidi and Jordan together so don't worry they will both be together again soon. I have been trying to be quite careful about what injuries I have given them as I want them both to be able to return to work, at the moment though I am debating what to do with Jordan as I can't decide if I should give him relatively simple to recover from injuries or something with a longer/more difficult recovery so if anyone has any preferences let me know!

I hope this is ok to follow as I know I have struggled with writing this and moving between the characters different perspectives.

Anyway, here is the next installment, and as ever please review if you can!

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><p>"I'm going to pull him out" Chase had made a decision, and whatever the outcome he would have to live by it. Jordan was his best mate, Chase was terrified of causing irreversible damage, of potentially ending his friends career and taking away the things he loved like surfing and diving, but in reality it hadn't been that difficult of a decision, because Chase knew that he simply couldn't risk his friends life. Slipping his hands under his friends arms he started to pull him backwards.<p>

Dean was waiting, trying to prepare himself he was getting out the medical equipment he might need. As Chase began to appear from the gap Dean was instantly behind him, sliding a spinal board under Jordan and helping Chase to pull him out into the open. With a few well practised moves the brothers, working perfectly in tandem, soon had Jordan immobilised.

"BP's 80/50, pulse 130, Belly's rigid" Dean reported to his nervous teamates. He followed the medical details with a loud and frustrated "Shit". Chase had slipped an oxygen mask over Jordans face and was quickly inserting an IV, looking up at his older brother as he started pushing fluids he noted Dean was doing the same. Few words needed to be said as they both got on with what needed to be done.

It had probably been less than 3 minutes since they had pulled him clear but that was all they needed, they were ready to move him to the ambulance. As the ambo's arrived to help carry him the brothers lifted the backboard. The 2 minute walk to the ambulance was silent, and when Dean looked down he noticed that his brother had placed his hand over his best friends hand.

When it came to it neither could do any more for their friend. The ambulance had rushed away but they couldn't leave, they still needed to locate Heidi and the other missing female occupant. They approached the command centre and at this point Dean pulled his brother aside.

"Listen to me Chase, whatever happens you did what you had to do, we have done everything we can, we have to leave it to the surgeons now. We will walk back over to the others and we will carry on with our job, because Jordan wouldn't forgive us if we didn't get Heidi out of this too, and right now Penny has a best friend, or a parent or a boyfriend who wants to see her again, and needs us to make that happen."

"Penny?"

"She's the other missing occupant, she is 26 years old, and she has lived in the apartment 3 doors down from Jordan for the last 3 years, Michelle got her details from the building manger."

Chase took this news in and he knew what Dean was doing, trying to focus him, trying to remind him that Jordan and Heidi were not the only people affected by the days events. And then a face appeared in his mind and he could see the other missing woman, He remembered seeing her on a couple of occasions when he had been at Jordans, he remembered the pretty blond and Jordans warning to stay away from his neighbours. He had thought she was cute but he had never asked her her name.

"Thank You" Chase paused, he was truly grateful for his brother at this moment. "lets get back to it"

They rejoined their colleagues and told the others what they knew.

"Jordans on his way to the hospital, we did all we could, but looks like an abdominal bleed, the whole area is pretty unstable but teams are still searching there, no sign of Heidi there, nothing on the camera." Dean reported.

"She couldn't hear anything while you were pulling Jordan out. She said he was in the bathroom and she was in the bedroom when the building came down, I thought she'd be close by but everythings such a mess it's impossible to tell where they ended up in relation to each other." Michelle caught the boys up on what Lara had learnt from Heidi while they were pulling Jordan out.

Lara was still on the phone, she was listening to the conversation going on around her with one ear while still trying to keep Heidi awake and talking to her.

"Heidi, you are doing great, we are coming to get you I promise"

Heidi was trying very hard to keep up with the conversation with Lara. After demanding to know what was happening with Jordan she had been relieved to hear that he was out from under the building and on his way to hospital. Lara had assured her he was going to be fine, and while she did suspect that she may have just been trying to keep her calm she had clung to that anyway.

The pain however had continued to grow in intensity and while she really didn't want to worry Lara or the others she was also struggling to get enough air. Speaking full sentences was becoming difficult, and she was starting to wonder about how long she had if they didn't find her soon.

She realised Lara was talking to her again and she hadn't responded, unsure as to what it was that Lara had said to her she hoped a simple answer might suffice.

"I'm OK"

Lara had now become even more sure that Heidi had deteriorated.

"Guy's she's not doing as well, she seems confused, more breathless and she's trying to hide it but she is in a lot of pain, if she has a pneumothorax it could be growing, if it tensions she won't have long"

"We're going to help the search teams" Dean motioned to Chase, and the two headed back towards the area they had pulled Jordan from, they would work out from there.

"Put her back on speakerphone" Vinces request confused Lara but she did it anyway.

"Heidi-ho, how you doing?"

"Vince, I'm OK"

"Heidi we have had this conversation before, now you need to tell me the truth, you know you can't lie to me"

"It's getting really hard...to breathe...every breath...it's getting harder"

Michelle, Lara and Vince were all staring at the phone, and it was very clear that she really was struggling now.

"Heidi, you said you were ready for work, you have your thigh pack right? Can you reach it now?"

"Yes...it's right...here"

Vinces plan was beginning to dawn on Michelle and Lara. An emergency treatment for a tension pneumothorax was actually a pretty simple procedure, provided you had what you needed. It could buy time, and time was what they needed right now.

Heidi brought the pack back up towards her face again and reached inside it, spilling the contents. She saw the item and realised what Vince was hoping she had in there, and now she knew what he wanted her to do.

"I got it...Vince...it's OK...I know what...to do" She grabbed the neatly packaged IV needle.

Lara and Michelle knew what she was about to do, and Michelle got on the radio to update Dean and Chase.

Heidi knew what she had to do, and was feeling a bit ashamed that she hadn't thought to do it herself, she was also rather apprehensive but she figured it couldn't possibly hurt more than the pain the metal was causing. Not being able to breathe was terrifying and she knew she had to fight, to get out of this so she could see Jordan. She needed to see Jordan.

So that was what she focused on as she unwrapped the needle. Holding it in her right hand she used her left hand to feel for the right space. Finding the spot she needed under her right collarbone she braced herself and pushed the needle in.

She heard the satisfying hiss of the trapped air escaping from her chest as she passed out.


	7. Chapter 7

I'm so sorry this has taken so long to update, lots going on at the moment, plus I am not really happy with this chapter. I have really struggled with it, but I really wanted to update, and if I hadn't done this I think I would be stuck forever! So apologies for the short chapter and I will try to work on the next chapter, I know where I am going with this later on but just struggling to get this bit done!

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><p>It had been several minutes since Heidi had stopped responding to them. The line had remained open but despite begging her to speak to them they had not heard anything more from her.<p>

Lara had headed over to help with the search, with Michelle and Vince anxiously demanding sit reps from all the search teams. When they heard that a woman had been found Vince had rushed over to the site, but he was left having to tell Michelle that while it was good news that they had found the missing Penny, Heidi was still missing.

Michelle had called the hospital to let them know that they had another patient on the way, and had attempted to get an update on Jordan, but all they could tell her was that he was in surgery.

She also had to deal with the press who wanted no know casualty figures, and the Minister who wanted to know how long before clean up could start and power could be restored. His attempts to stress the need to get started on said 'clean up' had been cut short when Michelle had found herself getting annoyed and had quite loudly reminded him that this was still a rescue situation and would remain so until everybody had been located.

Vince had raised his eyebrows as he had watched Michelle hang up on the Minister, but he didn't comment. He decided instead to demand a sit-rep from the teams, even though he knew they would have alerted him with any news. All anyone could tell him was that they had now covered most of the site, and were now working on the corner of the site which was particularly deep with rubble and debris.

He grabbed a couple of bottles of water and handed one to Michelle.

"We will find her" he attempted to reassure her.

"and if it's too late?"

Vince had no answer to that question. He wouldn't allow himself to think about the answer to that question. So he picked up his radio "Rescue command to rescue team leader, Dean tell me you have a plan"

"Vince this area is trashed, we can't get anything with the camera, it's too deep. Given we have covered the rest of the site we are going to just have to start digging here and hope we get something"

It was slow going, as gradually more and more concrete was moved away. Vince brought everyone more bottled water and insisted they took breaks, though he was well aware that getting Dean, Chase or Lara to stop for longer than a few minutes was going to be difficult. When Chase had asked about Jordan all Vince could tell him was that Michelle couldn't get any more information from the hospital and all they would say was that he was in surgery.

Around 30 minutes after they had last heard from Heidi they had something to work on, as the camera picked something up. The shape of the heat source was distinctive, and there was no doubt that they had found someone, someone they could only assume was Heidi. Knowing where she was helped, and had boosted their spirits, but they still had to get to her.

Lara ran over to the truck and grabbed the fibre optic camera. Dean, Chase and Vince were removing more debris when she returned and started setting the camera up. Feeding the camera in between the slabs of concrete all eyes were on the screen , and as the camera reached a void and revealed the trapped Heidi the atmosphere was tense.

"She's breathing", with Laras declaration breaths that no one released they had even been holding were released.

Dean was back in charge and directing the teams who were steadily removing pieces of wall and steel.

"If we cut this large slab and support this areas with airsures we can try and get Lara in" he motioned to one of the larger slabs resting over where Heidi lay.

Lara just nodded, she was the smallest and was used to being sent into confined spaces, plus it wasn't like she was going to refuse to try and get in there if she could.

As Vince and Chase worked on cutting the slab and slipping in the supports Dean approached Lara, speaking to her as he checked her equipment.

"It's going to be tight in there, get in and try to assess her as best as you can, we need to get some O2 in there and if you can you need to try and get a line in and try and stem some of the bleeding from that chest wound."

"yep" was Laras succinct response as she watched as an opening appeared where Chase and Vince were working. Taking a deep breath she moved forward, "let's do this"


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry it has taken so long to update, and sorry this is so short, I just needed to get this chapter done to be able to move the story on a bit. I am so sad that Rescue is now over, but hoping some of you might continue to write fanfiction, and I know I have ideas for a couple more stories. In my mind Jordan/Heid and Dean/Lara are all happily together now, and if I do do another story it will probably be set post series and have those couples! So I hope this is ok, as always please review, it is my motivation to keep going and consider new stories!

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><p>Lara had worked her way into the void that was occupied by her injured friend. As soon as she had crawled in she had quickly assessed the situation and realised that the roof of the void was what had once been one of the walls of Jordans bedroom, and that Heidi had been saved from being crushed by the metal bedstead.<p>

She quickly slipped an oxygen mask over Heidi's while updating the team outside.

"I've got her, I'm administering O2 and starting fluids, but we can probably lift this wall in one piece, get a spine board in and slip her out head first"

The rest of the team started preparing the equipment needed, with Michelle joining them and helping to bring over the supports and winches.

Lara started a line and started squeezing in fluids, and applied pressure dressings to the chest injury.

"Heidi, Heidi, Can you hear me?" Lara was disappointed to get no response but continued trying to stabilise her.

"Guys, before we lift the wall I'll need to try and trim this piece of metal, if the wall hits it it could dislodge it."

"OK Lara, we'll be ready to lift in 5, just securing the lines to the winch" Dean told her.

"OK, I need to come out, I need bolt cutters and a couple of supports" Lara started crawling backwards. "I'll be right back Heidi, we are getting you out now" Lara felt she had to reassure her even though she was unconscious.

Chase had grabbed the items Lara needed and waited to pass them to her, as he handed them to her he paused and the pair shared a look.

"Lets just get her out Chase" Chase nodded as Lara crawled back towards Heidi.

She quickly positioned the supports, then made sure Heidi was as stable as she could get her.

"Lara we are ready to start lifting on your word" Dean let her know the team outside were ready.

Lara made sure she was applying as much pressure as possible to the wound and tried to stabilise the metal with more bandages. She moved the bolt cutters into position and carefully trimmed the shard of metal.

"OK Guys I'm ready" She let the others know that they could start lifting the wall.

Dean and Chase started winching while Michelle helped Vince get ready to slide the spine board in.

As Lara waited, watching the wall move above her and Heidi, it seemed time had slowed down. Sunlight began to enter the space though and quickly Vince and Michelle were there and she was helping them guide the spine board in, and then Heidi out. Clamouring out after her Dean and Chase joined them and everyone worked effortlessly together.

With carefully practiced moves monitoring was applied, Chase established her blood pressure, Vince started another line and pushed more fluids and Dean and Lara tried to stem the bleeding which had intensified upon moving her.

The ambulance was ready and waiting so in a balancing act between spending time trying to stabilise her and trying to get to the hospital in the fastest time they worked swiftly and soon had her loaded into the ambulance. With Laras hand still pressing on the wound she jumped in the back with her, the doors were closed and the ambulance sped away.

Dean, Chase, Vince and Michelle stood and watched in silence as the ambulance moved away from them.

Michelle was the first to speak.

"I need to hand over to the police and the firies, they'll go over the area again and make it safe, but we should be able to go to the hospital now. Start packing up and I'll find out if we are clear to leave."

The guys started grabbing the gear and throwing it in the truck, they knew they would have to sort out the mess later but for now it didn't matter how neat the tidy up was.

Michelle was soon heading back over to them.

"Right, we'll need to debrief and document all this but for now lets go to the hospital"

No one needed telling twice as they all jumped into the vehicles and followed the route the ambulance had taken just minutes before .


	9. Chapter 9

So this is technically the longest chapter so far! Hope it's ok, I always struggle once I get past the initial drama! I'm not sure how much longer this will be, I could probably wrap it up in another chapter or two, or I could try and keep it going, but I am also keen to start a new story! I am trying to decide whether to start a new rescue fic or try doing a rush fic, but if I do do a rescue one it will be set post series and will probably be another hurt/comfort/angst type fic. If anyone has any ideas for what they'd like feel free to let me know!

And a huge thank you for the reviews, they really do keep me going with this story!

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><p>The team arrived at the hospital and entered the emergency department. Spotting Lara in the waiting room they headed over to her to get an update.<p>

"They took her into surgery a few minutes ago, they put a chest drain in to relieve the pneumothorax but they think the piece of metal pierced the intercostal artery. They need to tie it off and remove the metal and they want to check it didn't perforate the diaphragm."

Lara paused and took in her teammates faces. When they had arrived at the hospital everything had happened so fast but now it felt to Lara as though time was slowing.

"She was probably unconscious from the blood loss, but with the head wound they want to do a CT scan. The chest injury was the priority though so they will do the scan once she gets out of theatre."

Dean had moved next to Lara and had unconsciously placed his hand on her back. He wondered if he should have pushed to come with her to the hospital so she hadn't been alone to deal with all the information.

"Um, I asked about Jordan, He's still in theatre too but the nurse said they were almost done, she said the doc should be out soon but they did a laparotomy and have removed his spleen, she said he was doing ok"

Michelle gave Lara's arm a reassuring rub. Vince Sighed heavily and ran a hand over his head. No one seemed to know what to say next but the silence started to stretch.

The group had sat down, and Chase had decided to get some drinks. It was a distraction and he knew it but sitting in silence was starting to get to him and he was impatient for news. Jordan and Heidi were his best friends, and as Dean had pointed out to him in the past he didn't really have any others. He couldn't imagine not seeing them when he arrived at work in the morning or not finishing a difficult day with pizza and beers shared at Jordans place. At the moment though the images filling is head were of Heidi and Jordan dusty, bloody and unconscious and of the piles of rubble and smoke that they had dug them from. Unable to hold in his anger and frustration he slammed his fist into the vending machine, and swore loudly.

In the waiting room Dean looked up and watched Chase through the window. He always struggled to be a sympathetic shoulder for Chase to cry on, usually preferring to make jokes or a sarcastic comment. He always thought being tough with his younger brother would make him stronger, but he also knew Chase and could see that he was struggling to hold it together.

Dean made a move to get up and go talk to Chase but he was stopped by Michelle. They both knew Dean struggled with this sort of thing, and that while they were all struggling with the events of the day Chase was taking it particularly hard. For all his efforts to live up to his big brother and be a man Chase was sensitive and took a lot on emotionally.

Michelle left the waiting room and walked down the corridor towards Chase.

"Need a hand?" Michelle offered and Chase turned to face her. Though on the surface she was simply offering to help him with carrying the drinks Chase knew she was giving him an opportunity to express his feelings.

"I need them to be OK, I need them to walk out of here and for everything to return to normal, I want them to tell me that they are a couple and that they are happy, I want them back." Chase told Michelle, tears that he refused to let fall filling his eyes.

"I want to promise you that all those things will happen but you know I can't. I believe they are strong and fit and that they are in fantastic hands, I believe that they will come through this, for each other and for us. We all need them to be OK, for everything to be normal, we just have to hope and pray that it will be."

Michelle stopped and for the first time really considered the fact that Jordan and Heidi had broken the rule Jordan himself had declared was the number one rule of the station house 'don't screw the crew'. Jordan and Heidi had always had a pretty obvious connection and she wasn't that surprised by the news that they were a couple, but she was wondering how serious they were and why they had been keeping it so quiet.

Chase had continued to obtain bad coffee from the machine and he handed two of the cups to Michelle.

"Thank you"

She nodded and taking the coffees started walking back to the waiting room, Chase right behind her. As she handed Dean a cup he looked expectantly at her and she gave him a small nod, receiving a mouthed 'thanks'.

It wasn't much later that a doctor in scrubs entered and finally gave the waiting group some good news. Jordan was out of surgery and in recovery in a stable condition. While he had had a significant internal bleed they had been able to locate the source as a ruptured spleen, they had been forced to remove it but he would manage without it, and they hadn't found any other significant damage. He had required a large amount of blood and would require close observation but at the moment they were optimistic. He would be moved to a room in the high dependency unit shortly and they would then be able to see him.

After the doctor had left Michelle had excused herself to make some calls, she needed to check in with head office, they wanted updates and she needed to make sure the stationhouse was being covered. She also made a quick call to her sister to let her know that she may be late home and check she would be OK with James. Vince had also excused himself to go call his kids, he loved Heidi like a daughter and with her life in the balance he needed to hear their voices and remind them that he loved them.

Dean had been sitting next to Lara since they had arrived and since the doctor had entered to update them he had been holding her hand. They didn't need words, both just knew exactly what to do to be there for the other one.

While Dean and Lara had been sitting almost motionless Chase had not stopped moving. He alternated between pacing the room and testing out almost every spare seat in the waiting room, never sitting for more than a minute or two. He jumped up every time someone passed the room walking down the corridor and was desperate for news.

Vince and Michelle had returned and Michelle had taken a seat next to Chase. Her presence seemed to calm him a bit and he had remained seated, though was still fidgety.

When a different doctor entered the room Chase jumped up first, with the others following him. The female surgeon introduced herself and confirmed she had been treating Heidi. Looking at the faces of the people waiting for news she jumped straight in and confirmed that Heidi had made it out of surgery. She explained that Heidi herself had been correct in her own diagnosis of a collapsed lung and she had almost certainly saved her own life by inserting the needle to relieve the pressure. It was also likely that the piece of metal had nicked the intercostal artery when it had entered but it's presence had put pressure on the tear and had prevented her from bleeding to death while she was still trapped. Getting her out had probably dislodged the metal slightly , and she had then lost a lot of blood very quickly, but once they had tied off the artery and had given her a blood transfusion she had stabilised. They had placed a chest drain to re-expand her collapsed lung but the metal hadn't entered the abdomen or caused any other damage. The doctor then explained what would be happening next.

"Because she was unconscious when she arrived and because she has a head wound we are a bit concerned about a possible brain injury, so we are keeping her sedated and ventilated while we get some scans and then she'll go to the intensive care unit. It could be that she was just unconscious because of the blood loss but we want to be extra careful and while she is sedated it will be easier for her body to rest and recover."

She gave the group a couple of minutes to take in the news then promised she would let them know if there was any change and she would come back once they had the results of the scans. She then left the team alone to wait again.

Knowing that they were both alive and relatively stable was a huge relief and the team were able to relax a little. The silence was replaced by the talk of Jordan and Heidi's secret relationship, and of memories of the times in the past where they had suspected they would end up together. They realised that they all had really known that the two of them were made for each other and it was only a matter of time, and now they would both pull through this and be together again.


End file.
